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The Motor Trader Top 200 Franchised Dealer Groups for 2024 features in the July August print edition of Motor Trader.
It shows a sector experiencing huge interest in dealer groups from foreign investors, ongoing consolidation and a market building momentum after contraction in the pandemic.
At the top of the listing there has been big change in ownership. Pendragon was sold to Lithia, Lookers was bought by Global Auto Holdings, Marshall was sold to Constellation and Inchcape to Group 1.
The Top 200 continues to grow. Total turnover for the 200 groups listed is £81.3bn compared to £75.1bn in the 2023 survey. Profitability has fallen to £1.8bn from £2.048bn last time. Return on sales – the straight average pre-tax profit as a percentage of sales – has fallen to 2.25% compared to 2.87% last time. And the straight average pre-tax profits per employee has fallen to £13,806 from £16,183 in the 2023 survey.
This month we also have another look at the ZEV Mandate and the impact it is having on business. It stipulates that from 2024, 22% of new UK car sales from each brand must be zero-emission.
The figure for vans is 10%. Failure to meet these targets translates into a fine of £15,000 per vehicle. At the end of 2023, zero emission car registrations accounted for 16% of the year’s total, a six-percentage point deficit.
The market is already seeing pressure on fleets to up their intake of electric vans to meet the quota. And Ford has hinted that it may shift ICE vehicles away from the UK to meet the 22% targets.
This issue we also check out LSH Auto and its latest move with Chinese brand BYD, with the opening of a store in Westfield in West London. BYD is just one of the 15 Chinese that could enter the UK market.
And finally, a quick word on used cars and how dealer groups have changed tack. Sytner conducting a major overhaul of its Carshop business looking at rebranding of the stores to become Sytner Select Approved Used Cars superstores.
It is also talking to an unnamed party with a view to calling some of the Carshop stores as a going concern and shutting one outlet. Sytner is not alone. Lithia shut its CarStores business, Inchcape closed eight Bravoauto outlets, and Peter Vardy exited two supermarkets in Scotland.